Nick is the Founder and CEO of Renaissance Periodization, a training and diet services company for world-class athletes. Nick is also a competitive powerlifter and bodybuilder and has had the opportunity to work with numerous national level physique athletes as well as world class strength athletes. Nick holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan in Sport Management. Nick currently resides in Charlotte, NC with his wife and two kids.

On this episode Nick and I discuss:

Nicks background

Why Nick decided to start RP

Who are RP's main clientele

Nick shares with us some of the challanges of starting and running a business

Nick shares with us his biggest influences

Nick discusses the nutritional hierachies that RP has developed for both body composition and health goals and the why behind the differences between both hierarchies

Nick gives us his thoughts on Female Fat Loss

Nick and I discuss muscle gaining rates - what is realistic?

Nick and I discuss how many extra calories you really need to eat to gain weight

Nick talks about how important it is to make sure you have balance between work, training, and family in the marco scheme

Nick tells us about the biggest lessons he has learned so far in his career

Nick gives us his top advice and resources

And if Nick could invite 5 people to dinner, dead or alive, who would he invite and why?

This was an outstanding episode with Nick guys, and I hope you really enjoy it.

Stay Strong,

RB

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For more than 25 years, Nick has been creating unique, new exercises and training techniques and putting together some of the most innovative muscle-building and fat-loss programs available anywhere.

To create these unique programs and exercises, Nick puts to work his degree in Physical Education, covering advanced biomechanics, kinesiology, anatomy and physiology. When you put his exercises and programs to work, you'll immediately see and feel exactly how this combination of science, practical knowledge, thinking outside the box and just a little bit of insanity really mesh together to maximize every aspect of your training.

Nick began his training career in high school as a 145 lb cross-country runner (and ectomorph), looking to build muscle and get bigger. Today, putting to work all the unique techniques and exercises he has come up, Nick weighs in at a rock-solid 200 lbs and single digit bodyfat.

These days, he uses his experience as a former skinny guy to help others build the bodies of their dreams, whether it be building muscle, losing fat or both. He has helped literally thousands of people accomplish their goals and achieve results above and beyond the reach of more traditional programs.

In addition to being published in a variety of magazines (like Ironman, Muscle & Fitness, Maxim) and thousands of training websites across the Internet, Nick is also the author of more than 20 bodybuilding books including: Metabolic Monsters, Muscle Explosion – 28 Days to Maximum Mass, Metabolic Surge – Rapid Fat Loss and The Best Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of series.

For more information about Nick’s unique training methods and how they can help you build muscle, get ripped and crush exercise boredom forever, visit madscientistofmuscle.com and fitstep.com.

On this episode Nick and I discussed:

Nicks background

Nicks Influences

What are the good and not so good things that Nick currently see's with the fitness profession, and what solutions would he offer for the not so good things he is seeing

Nick shares his training philosophy and system with us

Nick talks about how determing an individuals bodytype can help him in individualizing his program design for his clients

Nick talks about the manipulation and management of volume, intensity, and density over a liftes career

Nick and I discuss maximum recoverable volume

Nick shares with us his favor exercises to develop optimal hypertrophy for the entire body

Nick shares with us his biggest lessons so far in his career

Nick shares his top resources and advice.

This was an outstanding episode with Nick guys, and I hope you really enjoy it.

Stay Strong,

RB

Show Sponsor:

To get INSTANT ACCESS to almost 20 hours of World Class online video Strength and Conditioning Information go to upmentorship.com

Zach is also The Head Strength & Conditioning Coach for The Rutgers University Wrestling Team.

Since Zach began training athletes in 2002, Zach has served as The Strength & Conditioning Coach for The Lehigh University Wrestling Team & continues to work with & consult Strength Coaches around the world, D1 Coaches, Athletes & Programs.

Zach holds a BA in Health & Physical Education from Kean University and an MA in Health Education from Montclair State University. Zach began his own training in 1989 after his brother convinced him to join the wrestling team his freshman year at Edison High School.

Since 2002, Zach has been training athletes from all sports, the beginning of which started out of Zach’s parents garage and backyard, then, at his first home in Edison where he began molding losing wrestlers into All State wrestlers and average athletes into dominant athletes.

On this episode Zach and I discuss:

Zach's background

Zach talks about how to develop life skills through quality training

Zach talk's about the importance of mind-set and how he feels today's youth and population in general are lacking in their development of this key life skill

Zach's Personal and Professional Influences

Zach and I disccuss how delayed gratification is a key trait to develop to attain Mastery

Zach discusses the need to be obessed to become great

Zach tells us why comfort is the enemy of greatness

Zach tells us about the good and and not so good things that he is currently seeing within the physical preparation profession and what his solutions are for the not so good things that his seeing

Zach shares with us his mission for enhancing the stardard of the phyiscal preparation and physical education of youth athletes in Jew Jersey

Zach shares with us the "Andrea The Giant" story - This is classic!!

Zach shares his life philosophy with us

Zach and I discuss parenting and how getting a better understanding of human development and behavior can enhance you as a coach

And if Zach could invite 5 people to dinner, dead or alive, who would he invited and why

This was an outstanding episode with Zach guys, and I hope you really enjoy it.

Mladen is a physical preparation coach from Belgrade, Serbia, grew up in Pula, Croatia (which he consider's his home town). Mladen was involved in physical preparation of professional, amateur and recreational athletes of various ages in sports, such as basketball, soccer, AFL, volleyball, martial arts and tennis.

In his free time he like to do Boxing/MMA and lift (sometimes heavy), along with reading about statistics and learning R programming language. Some consider Mladen to be an Excel wizard. He is also interested in predictive analytics/machine learning.

On this episode Mladen and I discussed:

Mladens give us an extensive insight into his background

How difficult it was for Mladen to to leave his position at Port Adelaide so he could be reunited with his son

Mladens influences both personal and professional

What are the good and not so good things that Mladen currently see's with the physical preparation profession, and what solutions would he offer for the not so good things he is seeing

Mladens overall training philosophy

Mladen speaks about the importance of being aware of the fact that there will always be uncertainties within our planning and to have contingencies in place

Mladen talks about the the potential to utilize an asymmetric risk/ reward model, often used in fileds like economics, for sports training and preparation

Mladen gives his thoughts on periodization

Mladen gives us insight into how he would run a sporting organization if he was given the responsibility to do so

Mladen speaks about how negative knowledge is more insightful and useful feedback then positive knowledge

We both speak about how Al Vermeils vertical integration model has influence both of us with our programming

Mladens gives his thoughts on Energy System Training

Mladen shares his thoughts on VBT

And if Mladen could invite 5 people to dinner, dead or alive, who would he invited and why?

This was an outstanding episode with Malden guys, and I hope you really enjoy it.

Dr. Yessis received his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California and his B.S. and M.S. from City University of New York. He is president of Sports Training, Inc., a diverse sports and fitness company. Dr. Yessis is also Professor Emeritus at California State University, Fullerton, where he was a multi-sports specialist in biomechanics (technique analysis) and sports conditioning and training.

Dr. Yessis has served as training and technique consultant to several Olympic and professional sports teams. He has also trained hundreds of athletes in different sports and developed unique specialized strength exercises that duplicate what takes place in execution of the game skills. By doing these exercises athletes improve skill technique and the physical qualities (strength) specific to the technique. By doing these exercises athletes improve their performance on the field very quickly.

How difficult was it for Doc to grow up in America with Russian parents during the Cold War

The Soviet sports training system and the influences of anabolic steriods

The coaching education system within the Soviet sports system

We talk about that in order to to be a great specialist you will first and also concurrently need to be a great generalist. This is a common trend I see with all masters of a specific craft. The stronger and more diverse one's general base, be that in the attainment of a physical capacity or of knowledge, the greater the mastery over the specific domain. Speciality is built off a general base. The greater the general base the greater the mastery of the speciality.

Doc's Influences

Doc's Training Philosophy - Skill execution is King!

How Doc differentiates between a physical capacity issue vs a skill issue

The roles of general strength and special strength training means over the course an athletes career and development

Doc gives us a detail description of the 1x20 method and how he came to formulate it

Doc discusses the criteria he uses in developing his prescription for special strength exercises

Doc talks about how he likes to program and organize the training process

Doc tell us about the biggest lessons his has learned over his career and life

What is Doc's current daily rituals and routines?

Doc's top advice and resources to all the listeners

And Finally - If Doc could invite 5 people to dinner, dead or alive, who would he invite and why?

This was an outstanding episode with Dr. Yessis guys, and I hope you really enjoy it.

Wil Fleming is a sports performance coach and weightlifting who's expertise comes from years of training and coaching athletes in multiple sports. His athletes are routinely the most explosive, fastest, and strongest on the field.

As mentioned Wil is the owner of Force Fitness and Performance which has been open since 2008. Force boasts an impressive track record of success with 90 + athletes earning Division I scholarships and nearly 225 athletes moving on to compete at the NCAA level in Division I, II, III. Athletes from professional football, basketball, baseball, soccer and track and field have trained with Wil and his team of coaches at Force Fitness.

Jim went to Michigan State University for a BS in Exercise Science and received his MS in Kinesiology from the University of Michigan. Jim was the Strength & Conditioning Coach at the University of Detroit Mercy from 1996-2002 and earned the distinction of NSCA Strength & Conditioning Professional of the Year for the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now the Horizon League) in 1998.